Malham Cove Yorkshire Dales National Park

Malham is a small Dales village north of Skipton in the beautiful Yorkshire Dales National Park.

Besides being the inspiration for the Charles Kingsley's classic children's novel, 'The Water Babies', the area around Malham is perhaps most famous as featuring some of the finest and most spectacular scenery in the
country.

Malham village itself lies in a broad valley called Malhamdale, which further downstream becomes known as Airedale. The huge precipice of Malham Cove dominates the scenery as seen to the north of the village, where the Craven
fault marks a clear geological boundary between the gentle pastural valley and the limestone uplands above. The Pennine Way long distance walk also passes through Malham, and the village is a great destination for limbers, cavers, walkers and tourists alike.

On approaching the village from the south, a car park and National Park Information Centre is located on the left hand side of the road. This is the only place in the village that you can park; it is pointless proceeding beyond this point! The road through the village is very narrow, parking on the roadside being prohibited.

Make your way from the car park entrance and head north up the main road towards Malham Cove, after a short walk the Cove comes into view. This is a huge natural limestone cliff, which was once the scene of a spectacular prehistoric waterfall. The valley above the cove is now dry, with the river having found an alternative route through an undiscovered cave system deep under ground. At the
foot of the cliff, a small stream called Malham Beck rises from a submerged cavern, which is still being explored by cave divers.

The footpath to the Cove is clearly visible across the fields; a gate is located on the right hand side of the road allowing access into the field. When there are not too many people around this is a good location for a grand panoramic view of the Cove, with the added bonus that from this distance you do
not require the use of a really wide-angle lens.

Follow the footpath to near the base of the huge cliff. You can actually walk right up to the base at the point where Malham Beck rises. Spectacular photographs of the cliff can be taken from this location, although you do need a very wide-angle lens to do it justice. Quite often climbers can also be photographed from this location, a moderate telephoto lens being useful to isolate the climbers from the vast cliff face.

Access to the top of the cliff is gained by climbing the flight of steps on the left hand (west) side of the cliff. Be warned, not only are the steps extremely steep, but having had thousands of pairs of boots tramping over them they have become very polished, consequently they can be very slippery - even
when it is dry! However, the hard climb to the top is well worth it.

The whole of the landscape is covered in a huge limestone pavement; the 'clints' are huge and craggy, access across them is reasonably easy if you take your time, take care as they do wobble. The limestone pavement makes unusual photographs due to its barren nature; again a very wide-angle lens can be put to good use emphasising foreground interest.

You can walk all around the top of the Cove, but the best views of it are from the eastern side. Walk as far as you can until you come to a fence, and then follow the fence down to the edge. A very wide angle lens is required to make the most of the landscape, although it looks pretty bleak there is some colour in it, black & white or black & white infra red film would give it a whole new look - something that I have not tried. This is a good spot to sit down, admire the view and have a snack! It is also the best place for catching late afternoon/early evening light.

There is enough of interest at Malham to spend the whole day here, there are numerous walks to other gorges and waterfalls, and nothing is beyond a relatively fit and healthy person. I always keep my equipment in a Photo backpack; this leaves me with both hands free for climbing about and keeps by
camera gear safe. The inconvenience of having to unpack your camera each time that you want to use it is a small price to pay for visiting locations like this.

Malham Cove Yorkshire Dales National Park Images

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